Stripper mechanism for encapsulating machines



July 24, 1951 R. E. MOULE 2,561,942

STRIPPER MECHANISM FOR ENCAPSULATING MACHINES Filed Feb. 9, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l/VVENTOE REX 51 MOULE July 24, 1951 R. E. MOULE STRIPPER MECHANISM FOR ENCAPSULATING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 9, 1950 mm 10 a m 5 w mo 2 Z 3 NM 0 ,\.L f fnvf/ A W H SXQHY E Patented July 24, 1951 STRIPPER MECHANISM FOR ENCAPSULAT- IN G MACHINES Rex E. Moule, Holden, Mass, assignor to Norton Company, Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application February 9, 1950, Serial No. 143,232

20 Claims. (01. 18-1) 1 The invention relates to a stripper mechanism for encapsulating machines.

. One object of the invention is to provide a re- ;liable stripper mechanism to remove capsules from the network of gelatin from which they were the other side of the network whereby two reeeiving trays can be used which will fill up in equal intervals of time thus enabling the encapsulating machines to run for a long time without servicing the receiving trays. Another object of the invention is to provide a stripper mechanism which can be readily opened up for threading the machine. Another object of the invention is to provide a stripper mechanism which will literally pry the capsules out of the network. Another object of the invention is to provide an easily. ad-

justable stripper mechanism and one which can quickly be opened up for threading the machine. Other objects will be in part obvious or in part pointed out hereinafter.

. In the accompanying drawings illustrating one of many possible embodiments of the mechanical features of this invention:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a portion of an encapsulating machine illustrating the stripper mechanism,

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is an enlarged elevation 'of the stripper mechanism,

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2,

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 2,

Figure 6 is an elevationof the stripper mechanism on a scale larger than Figure 5 illustrating especially some of the details of the supporting framework for the stripper mechanism,

Figure '7 is a view of a modification showing a link and an arm so connected that the strippers will oscillate in opposite phase.

Referring first to Figure 2, the encapsulating machine has a vertical wall II] which serves as a support for much of the encapsulating mechanism. Referring now to Figure 1, a frame II is attached as by means of screws [2 to the wall l0 and this frame ll includes a lower front wall l3 spaced from and parallel to the wall It] and also an upper wall l4 spaced from and parallel to the wall Ill. Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the

. 2 frame I I also includes a back wall l5 which is next to the wall Ill. The encapsulating mechanism which actually forms the capsules 20 from the sheets 2| of gelatin or the like is supported, guided and journalled in this frame H. I shall not herein describe the encapsulating mechanism in detail since the capsules may be formed by any mechanism desired and this present invention deals with mechanism to strip the capsules from the network 22 of gelatin. However, the encapsulating mechanism including the apparatus for forming the sheets or ribbons 2|, for bringing them together, for forming capsules 20 while filling them with some material such as medicament, for example vitamins, may be as disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 48,912 filed September 11, 1948, now Patent No. 2,549,327 granted April 17, 1951. With regard to terminology, the material is referred to as sheets or ribbons before it is brought together, then it is, by

the mechanism of the above application, formed into tubes'one-half of each tube being derived from one sheet or ribbon and the other half thereof being derived from the other sheet 'or ribbon, and finally from these tubes the capsules are died out, whereupon the remainder of what originally were the sheets is referred to as the network. This invention, therefore, deals with the material after it has become capsules and network. It will be seen from Figures 1 and 2 that the capsules 20 extend in horizontal as well as in verticallines, that is to say after capsule formation the network 22 holds capsules 20 extending for a limited distance vertically and also from edge to edge of the network in a series of parallel horizontal rows which also forms a series of parallel vertical rows. The purpose of the mechanism of this invention is to strip these "capsules from the network and discharge them into .trays 25. It is also pointed out that while the die mechanism which forms the capsules cuts the gelatinous tubes annularly and severs some 'of the capsules formed out of the tubes from the network, others of the capsules are still held to "a bevel gear 3i]. This bevel gear 30 meshes with journalled in a bearing 33 in the back wall I5 and passing through a hole in the vertical wall II). On the front end of the shaft 32 is an eccentric portion 36 upon which is a hub portion 31 of a link 38. Referring now to Figures 1 and 3 as well as 2 and 5, the link 38 is connected by means of a pin 39 in a hub portion 40 of the link to a block 4|, the pin 39 being secured to the block 4| by means of a set screw 42. A short shaft 44 seen also in Figure 6 is journalled in the back wall l5 and another short shaft 45 is journalled in the lower front wall I3 and these shafts are in alignment. The block 4| is secured to the shaft; 44 by means of a set screw 46. This shaft 44 has a collar 48 secured thereto adjacentthe wall I5 and the shaft 45 has thereon a collar 49 adjacent the wall l3. Adjacent the collar 49 on the shaft 45 is a short arm 50 which is secured to the shaft 45. Extending between the arm 50 and the block 4| and secured to each is a bar 5|. Secured to the bar 5| as by means of screws 52 isa flat piece of sheet metal 53 with up-turned ends 54.

It will now be seen when the motor 28 is energized, the shaft 32 will be rotated thus rotating the eccentric 35 which will cause oscillations of the block 4| on the axis of the short shaft 44 and consequently the fiat piece 53 of sheet metal will oscillate. The right hand edge of the piece 53 is straight and parallel to the plane of the network 22 and but a short distance away from it as shown in Figure 6 and furthermore the mid position of this right hand edge is on the same horizontal level as the axis of the shaft 44. As this piece of sheet metal 53 oscillates,'it breaks loose some of the capsules 20 from the network 22 and those which break loose on the left hand side roll down the slanting piece of sheet metal 53 and drop into the left hand tray 25.

There is a similar fiat pieceof sheet metal 58 on the right hand side of the network 22 likewise having up-turned ends 59 and likewise being oscillated whenever the motor 28 is energized. The plane of the piece 58 bears the same angular relation to the plane of the network 22 as does the plane of the piece 53 and the left hand edge of the piece 58 is straight and parallel to the plane of the network 22 and located but a .short distance from it when the piece 58 is in operative position. Thus both of the pieces 53 and 58 contact capsules 20 and exert mechanical force upon them and separately or together they rip the capsules out of the network whereupon the capsules roll down one or the other of the pieces 53 and 58, some rolling down one and some rolling down the other, and those which roll downthe piece 58 drop into the right hand tray 25. Since the mechanism is balanced and the oscillations are uniform, it is largely a matter of chancev whether any capsule goes to the right or to the left and consequently about half go to the right and about half go to the left and the trays 25 are filled concurrently. I will now describe the mechanism for mounting and oscillating the piece 58.

Referring now to Figures 2, 3 and 4, located in a hole in the block 4| is a pin 60 secured in place by a set screw 5|. Pivotally mounted on the pin 88 is a link 82. The other e'nd of the link 62 is mounted on a pin 63 extending into a hole.

in a short arm 64, the pin being secured to the short arm by a set screw 65. Extending into a hole at the other end of the short arm 54 is a pin 66 fastened in place by a set screw 67. Mounted on this pin 66 is an arm the other end of which is pinned by means of a pin II to a rock shaft 12 which is journalled at one end '4 in the wall l5 and at the other end in a bracket 14 secured to the top of the lower front wall I3 by means of screws l5. Pinned to the rock shaft 72 adjacent the bracket 14 by means of a pin 16 is an arm 85 of the same length as the arm 10 and extending from the rock shaft at the same angle. The lower end of the arm is pivotally mounted on a pin 8| extending from a hole in a block 82 and secured thereto by means of a setscrew 83. Extending between the block 82 and the short arm 54 is a bar 85 similar to the bar 5| and the piece 58 is secured to the bar 85 by means of screws 85. It will thus be seen that oscillatory motion of the block 4| is transmitted to the short arm 64 and therefrom to the flat piece of sheet metal 58 which therefore oscillates in unison with the piece 53 and with the same amplitude whenever the pin 66 and the pin 88 are located in the position shown in Figure 2. However on account of the linkages whenever the shaft "i2 is rotated counter-clockwise to move the arms 18 and it to the dot-dash position of Figure 3, the piece 58 is moved to the dot-dash position of Figure 3 and this is done before the machine is threaded, that is to say when starting up the machine. The shaft 12 can be turned in the following manner:

Referring now to Figures 4 and 6, pinned to the front end of the rock shaft 12 by means of a pin 88 is an arm 89. Passing through the lower end of the arm 85 is a screw 90. Stop pins 9| and 92 extend forwardly from the bracket 14. An adjustable screw 93 secured in position by a nut 94 extends through the arm 89 in position to engage the stop pin 9i and this screw 93 can be used to determine the left hand position of the arm 89 and thus to determine the operative position of the rock shaft l2 and of the arms 10 and 80. 'The screwell can be used to lock the parts in one position or the other since the inner end of the screw 9!] will engage the wall |3 and/or part of the bracket 14 whenever it is turned clockwise and of course it can be loosened at any time to move the arm 89. In this manner the flat piece 58 can be held in its operative position where it oscillates close to the network 22 and it also can beheld in the dot dash line position of Figure 6 to leave a large space between it and the fiat piece of sheet metal53 for threading the machine.

Referring to Figure 1, the network is drawn downwardly and held taut by rollers I88 and HM strippers and more specifically they are oscillating or vibrating strippers. The mechanism herein described oscillates them in unison; that is to say they both go up together and they both so. down together but by shifting the link 62 to the other side of the pin 66 and providing an upward extension to the short arm 54 to which the link' 52 can be connected, the stripper pieces 53 and 58' can be caused to oscillate in opposite phase, that is to say while one is going up the other is going down. The mechanism has been operated both ways with success although I'prefer to have the strippers move in unison, that is to say in the same phase relationship; Figure "7 illustrates the modification wherein the link '62 metal 53 and 58' are strippers.

"tion requires guides. oscillation is small, it is substantially equivalent is connected to the other side of the pin 66 by a v 58 will oscillate As previously stated the flat pieces of sheet be seen that each of these strippers has a straight -edge.-These-straight edges, as clearly-shown in Figure 6, are separated from each other in the 'mid position of each by a distance lessthan the thickness of a capsule. The strippers are mounted so that each straight edge of each stripper can move up and down and the-motor 28 causes them to move up and down. This up 'an'd 'down movement in the illustrative embodiment is an oscillatory movement. The advantage of an oscillatory movement is that a simple pivotal mounting achieves the result whereas a reciprocating moto rectilinear reciprocation and the latter could well be substituted.

, It will be seen that the strippers adjacent the straight edges are at dihedral angles to the feeding side of the plane of the network.- This'in combination with the close spacing of the edges to each other causes the edges to exert a prying action upon the capsules positively to remove them from the network. Considering now Figure 6 and assuming that one or the other of the strippers hits the capsule first, as will practically always be the case because hardly any capsule 29 is exactly centered in the network, an upward motion" of the stripper causes frictional engagement between the top of the capsule and the It will readily Since the amplitude of network and this causes a rolling action which pries or rolls the capsule out of its socket. It is like moving a wagon by grabbing the wheel at the top because a wagon can be more easily moved that way than by a straight push on the body.

'- Acco'rdingly the stripper mechanism, of, .the

invention is highly efficient and has been shown to be very effective in practical use. An efiicient stripper mechanism pays dividends because capsules not stripped from the network are crushed between rollers I00, Illl and thus represent a net loss to the manufacturer. Y

The speed of the motor 28 should be such as to give each stripper a complete cycle of oscillation during the advance of a horizontal row of capsules 20 by the distance apart in a vertical direction of adjacent horizontal rows. However the mechanism operates better if the motor 23 gives the strippers two complete oscillations in that length of time. Even higher speeds are useful and efiective but there is a limit at about ten cycles per encapsulating cycle in order that the edges'of the strippers shall not cut the capsules. An encapsulating cycle is accomplished during the time a horizontal row of capsules moves downwardly to the position originally occupied by the row beneath it.

It will be seen that the right-hand stripper 58 can be with a quick motion of the screw 90 removed from the network 22 so as to allow threading of the machine. Equally readily the righthand stripper 58 can be replaced. By adjusting the screw 93 the gauge of the stripper mechanism is set and it can be set very quickly. Thus the machine is capable of handling different sized capsules. The critical features of a stripper mechanism of this nature are based upon their relationship to the diameter of capsules being made and their relationship to the plane which can be considered the mid plane of the network andconsequently in the'following clai'msIso define the mechanism. Itwillithusbe seen that there has been provided by thisinvention apparatus in.which;the various 'objectshereinbefore set forth together with many thoroughly practical. advantages are successfully achieved. As many possible em.- bodiments may be made of the above invention and as :many changes might be .made. in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth'or shown in the accompanying'drawings is to be interpreted as illustrativeand not in :a limiting sense. v 4

Iclaim: I

1. A stripper mechanism for an encapsulating machineto strip the. capsules from anetwork of gelatin or-the like intwhich they were formed comprising a pair of strippers each. having a straight edge, a mounting for each stripper holding the straight edge thereof close to and parallel to the plane of the network, said straight edges being separated from each other in the mid posi- 'tionof each by a distance less than the thickness of a capsule, said mountings allowing each straight edge of each stripper to move up and down, and power means to-move said straight edges up'and down.

2. In a stripper mechanism as claimed in claim 1, the combination with the parts and features therein specified, of the further feature that the mountings are pivotal mountings on axes parallel to the plane of the network and the up and down movement of the straight edges in oscillatory. 3. In a stripper mechanism as claimed in claim 2, the combination with the parts and features thereinspecifiei'of the further feature that thestrippers adjacent the straight edges featurestherein specified, of the further feature 'that'the oscillations of the strippers are in the samephase'relationship, i. e. they move up together and they move-down together.

5;In a stripper mechanism' as claimed in :claim' 1, the combination with theparts' and "features therein specified,-of the further feature that the strippers adjacent the straight edges are at obtuse dihedral angles to the feeding side of the plane of the network.

6. In a stripper mechanism as claimed in claim 5, the combination with the parts and features therein specified of the further feature that the up and down movements of the strippers are in the same phase relationship, i. e. they move up together and they move down together.

7. A stripper mechanism for an encapsulating machine to strip the capsules from a network of gelatin or the like in which they were formed comprising a pair of strippers having edges which, in a median position thereof, are spaced from the network by a distance less than half the diameter of a capsule, a mounting for each stripper allowing said edges to be moved up and down, and power means to move said edges up and down.

8. In a stripper mechanism as claimed in claim 7, the combination with the parts and features therein specified, of the further feature that the mountings are pivotal mountings on axes parallel to the plane of the network and claim 9, the combination with the parts and features therein specified, of the further :feature that the oscillations of the :strippers are in the same phase relationship, .i. e. they move up-together and they move down together.

11. In a stripper mechanism as claimed in claim 1, the combination with the parts and features therein specified, :of the further feature that the up and down-movements of the strippers are in the same phase relationship, i. e. they -move1up together and they moveadown together.

'12. In a stripper mechanism as claimed in claim 7, the combination with the parts and featurestherein specified, of the further feature that the strippers adjacent the edges are at'obtuse dihedral angles :to the feeding side of the plane of the network.

13. In a stripper mechanism as claimed in claim 12, the combination with the .parts and features therein specified, of the further feature that the up and down movements of the strippers are in the same phase relationship, ire. they move up together and they move down together.

14. In a stripper mechanism as claimed in claim '7, the combination with the parts and features therein specified, of the further feature that the up and down movements of the strippers are in the same phase relationship, i. e. they move up together and they move down together.

15. In a stripper mechanism as claimed in claim '7, the combination with the parts and features therein specified, of the further features that the mountings are pivotal mountings on axes parallel to the plane of the networkand the up and down movements of the edges are oscillatory, and the oscillations are in opposite phase relationship, 1. e. when one stripper-moves up the other one movesdown and vice versa.

16. In a stripper mechanism as claimed in claim 15, the combination with the parts and features therein specified, of the further feature that the strippers adjacent the edge are 'at obtuse dihedral angles to the feeding sideof the network.

1'7. In a stripper mechanism as claimed in claim 7, the combination with the parts and features therein specified, of the further features that the strippers adjacent the edges are at obtuse dihedral angles to the feeding side of the plane of the network and the oscillations of the strippers are'in opposite phase relationship, i. e.

Whenone-stripper-moves up the other .one moves down and vice versa.

18. In a stripper mechanism as claimed in claim 1, the combination with the parts and features therein specified, of the further features that the mountings are pivotalmountings on axes parallel to the plane of the network and the up anddown movements of the straight edges are oscillatory and in opposite phase relationship, i. e. when one stripper moves up the-other one moves dOWI'l and vice VGTSEL.

19. In a stripper mechanism as claimed in claim 18, the combination with the parts and features therein specified, of the further feature that the strippers adjacent the straight edges are at obtuse dihedral angles to the feeding side of the plane of the network.

20. In a stripperv mechanism as claimed in claim 1, the combination with the parts and features therein specified, of the further features that the strippers adjacent, the straight edges are at obtuse dihedral angles to the feeding side of the plane of the network and that they move up and down in opposite phase .re-

lationship, i. e. when one stripper moves up the other one moves down and vice versa.

REX E. MOULE'.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of'this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,970,396 Scherer Aug. '14, 1934 2,152,101 Scherer Mar. 28, 1939 2,199,210 Scherer Apr. .30, .1940 2,279,505 Ravenscroft Apr. '14, 1942 

1. A STRIPPER MECHANISM FOR AN ENCAPSULATING MACHINE TO STRIP THE CAPSULES FROM A NETWORK OF GELATIN OR THE LIKE IN WHICH THEY WERE FORMED COMPRISING A PAIR OF STRIPPERS EACH HAVING A STRAIGHT EDGE, A MOUNTING FOR EACH STRIPPER HOLDING THE STRAIGHT EDGE THEREOF CLOSE TO AND PARALLEL TO THE PLANE OF THE NETWORK, SAID STRIGHT EDGES BEING SEPARATED FROM EACH OTHER IN THE MID POSITION OF EACH BY A DISTANCE LESS THAN THE THICKNESS OF A CAPSULE, SAID MOUNTINGS ALLOWING EACH STRAIGHT EDGE OF EACH STRIPPER TO MOVE UP AND DOWN, AND POWER MEANS TO MOVE SAID STRAIGHT EDGES UP AND DOWN. 